Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Orc Horde Assaults
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Last night's display by Gray Wolf at the main gate had served as the catalyst to reunify the disorganized forces into a cohesive whole.
Thanks to that, even the conscription and requisitions we'd anticipated backlash for proceeded without issue, and all other war preparations were handled swiftly.
Gray Wolf Village was a palisade fortress built at the foot of a relatively elevated mountain slope.
Aside from the single path leading to the main gate, the terrain sloped sharply upward, making it easy even for novices to shoot arrows downward.
The rear was blocked off completely by towering mountains, so there were effectively only three exposed attack points.
These were the left and right palisades relative to the main gate, and the narrow drainage ditch behind the village, which had been repaired since the hostage incident.
Personnel were naturally assigned to each.
I and Gray Wolf took command of the most critical left and right palisades,
while Blue Hand and the Patrol Captain handled the forces blocking the main gate and the reserves.
My disciples were also assigned zones naturally—the safest one being the drainage ditch, along with the inner keep where all non-combatants had gathered.
'I can fight better than anyone, Master! Please, give me a chance!'
Barley Ear was brimming with enthusiasm.
The rumors of his exceptional swordsmanship and his own confidence weren't unfounded, it seemed.
However, lacking any real battle experience, he couldn't be entrusted with a key position,
so Gray Wolf assigned him to guard the entrance to the drainage ditch behind the village.
'I'll protect everyone.'
In contrast, Snow-Covered volunteered to take responsibility for the shelter packed with non-combatants and the inner keep entrance.
She judged herself the most suitable for the special role of managing anxious evacuees, given her camp experience.
Gray Wolf naturally accepted with pleasure, and thus the assignments were set.
Time passed, the sun set once more, and thick darkness descended again.
Crackle, pop.
The brazier, fueled by scrap wood, burned cheerfully as if it loved nothing more.
Yet the hearts of those staring into those flames were endlessly complicated.
War was imminent.
Not some triumphant parade where the lord returned after subduing bandits amid cheers,
but a true war, thrusting spears at orcs that slaughtered and devoured humans.
Even battle-hardened soldiers were tense; one could only imagine the conscripted villagers.
Those on standby atop the palisade since dinner hadn't exchanged a single word of idle chatter.
The mood was poor.
I watched them for a while, then approached a young man staring blankly at the spear issued to him, my footsteps thudding steadily.
"Gasp! Loy...!"
"It's fine. Stay seated."
The startled youth tried to stand,
but I sat him back down and took the empty seat beside him.
His eyes blinked in bewilderment, as if he'd never expected me to sit with him.
I asked the youth quietly,
"How old are you?"
"...Ah! Old enough to drive a cart, and next month, I'm set to marry my fiancée."
Marriage... So, he'd soon be an adult.
From my perspective, this still-youthful man would marry his fiancée next month and build the most precious family of his life.
I blessed him sincerely.
"Congratulations."
"Hey, groom-to-be! You better survive this!"
"Marriage is hell anyway! Haha!"
The soldiers tossed congratulations and jokes his way, their voices rising just enough without being too loud.
Teasing a soon-to-be groom was apparently the most fun thing around.
The palisade's corpse-pile gloom lifted considerably thanks to the good news.
After letting the soldiers chatter for a bit, I asked the youth, who was smiling with a flushed, embarrassed face,
"Feeling better now?"
"...Yes. Thank you."
The youth now gripped his former eyesore of a spear like a treasure.
He'd realized this weapon in his hands was the only means to protect what mattered.
Yes, let's all survive this unscathed.
I patted his shoulder lightly before thudding back to my post.
The night was long and deep.
The murmurs continued for a while before fading into the shrill chorus of crickets.
The soldiers gathered atop the palisade prepared for the crisis in their own ways.
'My king, I know my own shortcomings.'
One day, unable to contain my frustration, I'd asked the king directly.
Why he wasn't disappointed in me, who despite a lifetime of training had failed to attain Aura.
The king replied,
'No, squire. Aura is but a means, never the true value.'
'Even that means eludes me.'
'Yet you possess something brighter than any other. Something neither millennium-living elves nor orc steel-masters could attain.'
'Did you attain it, my king?'
'No. I've seen all this world offers. Yet even seeing it, I could not attain it.'
The king wielded a sword that blazed like the sun and ushered in humanity's most glorious era.
Yet even that great king said he hadn't attained what I possessed.
I asked,
'What is it?'
What did I possess?
Effort? Obsession? Inferiority? Despair? What on earth did I have?
But the king didn't answer.
'You'll learn in time. It will be the precious lantern guiding us humans.'
The king smiled as he said it.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!!!!
"Enemy! The orc main force is here!"
"------!!!"
I snapped awake and opened my eyes.
The ear-splitting warning bells rang out alongside soldiers scrambling to their feet.
Damn, just a dream.
I grabbed my weapons in haste and climbed atop the palisade amid the running soldiers.
Swish, swish.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
Whoo! Whoo!
Ewah-ah ------!!!!
Dawn clung to the mountain peaks.
But the forest horizon, which should have been silent, began to rustle, and startled birds fled skyward amid the sudden clamor.
The trembling earth, the echoing roars.
The filthy war cries of the orcs threatened the human village head-on.
Murmurs spread.
The soldiers wavered.
The sheer numbers and momentum of the orc main force had instantly sapped their will to fight.
But the chaos quickly subsided thanks to a booming voice from the adjacent palisade.
"Everyone, battle stations!!!"
A heavy voice laced with Aura.
The great lord Gray Wolf, who had slain countless bandits and barbarians to found this village.
The soldiers, momentarily at a loss, gaped in shock.
Then, snapping to, they rushed to their assigned posts, distributing spears and arrows.
Clang!
As expected of Gray Wolf.
Reassured, I swiftly drew my sword.
I ran to the palisade I commanded and shouted to the soldiers forming ranks.
"Raise those shields higher—cover your chests and faces! The palisade will shield your lower bodies!"
"Archers------!! Do not loose until firing order!"
Thoom! Thoom! Boom! Boom!
The orc main force advanced without halt.
Drumming war beats furiously, they began forming attack lines.
Dozens of wooden ladders they carried entered view, along with a massive ram that looked ready to smash the gate.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed dryly.
No matter how they steeled themselves, fear of the mighty orc army surged.
But everyone knew.
If they fled in terror here, their families and neighbors would be in peril.
Courage emerges precisely when protecting what's dear.
I paced the palisade briskly, syncing breaths with the resolute soldiers.
Then, the orcs, having formed their assault lines, began advancing slowly.
Step, step, step, step, step.
Fluttering orc banners, hideous fangs bared in howling war cries from orc warriors.
The distance to the black horde shrank steadily, their raucous cries filling the air.
But Gray Wolf's final shout swallowed even those war cries.
"For Mother North------!!!!!!!!!!!"
Tooooooo------!!
The clear horn pierced the forest.
Archers gritted teeth, drawing bowstrings taut, awaiting the commander's signal.
One step, another, and yet one more.
They're coming—the gap closed.
And in that near moment, the dawn over the mountains spilled light like a broken egg.
I raised my sword toward the dazzling world.
"Fire!!!"
"Fiiiire------!!"
"Archers, loose!!"
Whoosh! Fwoom!
Shwaaaaaaaa!
Volley after volley of arrows rained down like a storm below the palisade.
The charging orcs were struck mid-leap and toppled.
"Kraaaagh!"
"Die, you bastards!"
But a single arrow volley only felled the front-runners.
I ordered free fire for the archers and hurled javelins relentlessly.
Thunk! Thwack!
Soldiers' arrows and heavy javelins poured ceaselessly onto the orcs.
No armor, however thick, could fully block them; the orcs tangled, tripped, and sprayed blood on the ground.
I could see them panicking.
I strove to concentrate firepower, already on my fourth javelin.
But our terrain advantage halted abruptly at the ensuing roar.
"Kroooaaargh!!"
"Ewah-ah!!!"
"Ladders! Ladders incoming!"
The orcs' archers, hidden behind shields, began counter-firing at the palisade.
As we raised shields, ladders emerged from their rear ranks.
Dozens of them.
Intent on scaling the palisade entirely, they rushed the ladders forward swiftly.
But this was no surprise to us.
I swatted incoming arrows and shouted to the reserves behind,
"Hot water, now!"
Hot water prepared by village women, tended through the night to keep fires burning.
At my order, soldiers hauled heavy cauldrons atop the palisade.
"Pour it!"
"Heave!"
No hesitation.
Soldiers upended cauldrons of scalding water before ladders could hook.
Sizzle!
"Kraaaagh!"
Orcs carrying ladders were doused head-on.
Not boiling oil, which was a shame, but effective nonetheless.
Clunk! Clunk!
"Axes!"
"Push 'em off!"
Where hot water missed, soldiers shoved hooked ladders and hacked with axes.
Endless arrows and fluid ladder defense bolstered the precarious balance.
Good—this was working.
I encouraged the desperately fighting soldiers while slashing a hooked ladder.
But then, a lookout soldier frantically pulling his bow cried out,
"Incoming! Ram incoming!"
"------!!"
At "ram," I whipped my gaze around.
There: orcs hefting the ram behind a sturdy shield wall.
Arrows and javelins rained, yet the shield wall advanced unyieldingly.
I dashed across the palisade to the gate.
Thud!
Without a moment's pause, I leaped atop their shield wall.
"Knight!"
Soldiers gasped.
As if time froze, orcs gawked up at my plummeting form.
Slash!
But my sword cleaved not this frail old body, but the thick steel shields guarding the orcs.
The swung blade flashed like dawn in the frozen wastes.